Hi guys i'm a new ball python owner and i'm just wondering why my snake never stays in his hot side hide.

Try reading this slowly and try to understand what i'm saying

I have a 40 gallon tank which is quite big for my baby ball python, but I have provided him with 3 hides in his tank and lots of plants and a twisted tree log type thing to climb on.

I have one hide on the cool side, one hide in the middle (along with the water bowl), and one hide on the hot side. On the hot side I have a daylight blue lightbulb for during the day, and a infrared red lightbulb for the night. (I swap out the lightbulb. I use the daylight blue bulb from 10:00 in the morning to 10:00 at night, and the infrared red bulb from 10:00 at night to 10:00 in the morning. That gives him 12 hours of day, and 12 hours of night. That's correct right?)

So anyways. My snake is never in the hot side hide, he always stays in the middle hide where the temperature is not as warm as it should be (usually about high 70's). On the hot side of the tank, air temps reach about 86-88 degrees, while the substrate under the hide (which has the under tank heater) reach to about 90-92 degrees (sometimes a little higher). I use the digital temp gun to measure temps under the hot side hide on the substrate. Is this too hot for him for under his hide? What temp should it be under his hide on the substrate?

I hope someone can understand and help me out here. Thanks! -Quinn